Family
by lunastars
Summary: 'She pulled away and sat up beside him. She wiped away more tears and gave a half-smile. "For still being here. I know Cate and Baze are trying and no matter how angry I am with everything that's going on I'm glad that they're here but I'm glad that you're here too. I'm sorry that you're not with Cate anymore but I'm really thankful that you're still around."'


_Set during season 1. Ryan and Cate have broken up and Bug is gone. This is also after you find out that Ryan and Lux have been texting._

* * *

Ryan followed Lux through as she entered Baze's place. He closed the door behind them as she plopped down on the couch. He would have taken her to Cate's but with everything going on he wasn't sure it was the right decision, so he brought her home to Baze's.

He had found her wandering around a few blocks over. It looked like she had been walking for hours in the cold and pouring rain. If Ryan had to guess he would say that she was still in a rut over Bug. Although she wasn't crying he could tell that the whole thing still upset her and it wasn't helping with this guy Jones coming into the mix.

"Want to talk about why you were wondering around in the cold and rain?"

"Not really," Lux sighed as she rested her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes.

"I get it," Ryan told her as he stepped closer to the couch. "I'm not a monster. I know I'm the one that ended things with Cate but that doesn't mean that I don't care. This whole thing is hard to digest."

"It sucks when you love someone, right?" she said as she opened her eyes a little to look at him.

"It can do," Ryan agreed with a chuckle. "But they're not worth getting sick over, so maybe you should change into dry clothes."

Lux rolled her eyes with a smile on her face as she got up from the couch. As she moved to her small room behind the shower curtains, Ryan sat at one end of the couch. He crossed his legs and rested his arm across the back of the couch.

Eventually Lux came back out. She had on a loose fitting white tank top with some band logo on it in black, a pair of light blue cotton shorts that were so big they almost came down to her knees and a pair of socks that were pushed down to the ankles. As she sat down on the opposite end of the couch she pulled her hair into a bun.

"Thank you for bringing me here," Lux told him honestly. "I get that you probably want to avoid Cate and Baze as much as possible."

"I'm not that childish to avoid them," he disagreed with a small smile.

"Oh no, all three of you are exactly that childish." She tucked her feet beneath her and leaned against the back of the couch. "But I'm leaving it at that, this whole thing with Bug and-"

"Jones," Ryan said knowingly. "I'd love to hear about someone else's drama instead of my own for a change."

"You mean my drama involving cute quarter back and the love of my life."

"Love of your life, huh?" he asked curiously.

"That's what he is, right?" Lux said, questioning herself at the end because she honestly wasn't too sure. "After all this time, that has to be the right thing to call him, right?"

"Maybe," Ryan shrugged. "But Lux he said some horrible things to you and he left. I'm not saying you shouldn't love him anymore but maybe you should try and move on."

"Like you're trying with Cate."

Ryan smiled and shook his head at her but he did catch the tears in her eyes despite the smile she wore. Keeping his arm rested along the back of the couch he opened his hand out to her. The two of them shuffled to the middle of the couch and as they hugged she began to cry.

From the way her shoulders shook and her cries gradually became more choked Ryan realised that she was trying her hardest to hold it in. In the time that Lux had been in all of their lives he had seen her get worked up but never had he seen her like this. He wrapped his arms around her as she leaned into him and let it all out.

"Do you want me to call Cate and Baze?"

Lux sniffled a little and wiped away her tears as she tried to steady her breathing. "Thank you."

"For what?"

She pulled away and sat up beside him. She wiped away more tears and gave a half-smile. "For still being here. I know Cate and Baze are trying and no matter how angry I am with everything that's going on I'm glad that they're here but I'm glad that you're here too. I'm sorry that you're not with Cate anymore but I'm really thankful that you're still around."

Ryan offered her a small smile and placed his hand gently on her cheek. He wiped away some more tears with his thumb before dropping his hand. He sat at one end and laid his arm across the back of the couch. Lux sat beside him, her feet tucked under herself as her head rested on his shoulder.

"I want kids of my own, but that doesn't mean I don't want you," Ryan told her softly. "Whether Cate and I are together or not you still mean something to me. Whether we officially become a family or not, I'm here for you. I think you should talk to Cate and Baze but if you ever feel stuck or like you're not sure what to do, I'm not that far away."

Lux sighed, this time happily as she let her eyes close. All of her life she had prayed for a mom and a dad. Now she had that. She came so close to having two dads but even if the second wasn't legally going to be her guardian she still had somebody else to look out for her and care for her like she mattered in the world. For all the wrong things going on in Lux's life at the moment they were nothing compared to what was going right.


End file.
